Best non-daily paper among Record Publishing Co. awards

Record Publishing Co.'s Weekly Division received three awards as part of the Press Club of Cleveland's 2013 Ohio Excellence in Journalism awards.

At a ceremony June 7 at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown, Stow Sentry Senior Editor Marsha McKenna was presented the award for Best Non-Daily Newspaper in Ohio in the Community Newspaper category.

"The Stow Sentry was picked as the first-place winner because it provided readers with better hard news stories," the judges said. "The paper covers local government, politics and courts aggressively in addition to providing decent features on people and businesses. It dished out an ample helping of sports stories about school teams."

Winning a second place in the non-daily General Features category was Hudson Hub-Times reporter Laura Freeman. Her winning entry was "At 109, Hudson icon celebrates 12-12-12 birthday for second time," a story about longtime Hudson resident Ada Cooper Miller.

"Wow, what a well-told story of a hidden treasure right there in the backyard," the judges said. "God bless her!"

Associate Sports Editor Frank Aceto won for Best Section in a non-daily newspaper for his Tallmadge Express sports pages.

"I am so, so proud of all of our editors, reporters and photographers who work day in, day out to produce stellar community newspapers," said Executive Editor Erica Peterson. "It's nice to see someone recognize our hard work."

"I am also proud of the editors, reporters and photographers who have made our community newspapers the strong products they are, ones that serve our readers so well," Publisher David Dix said.

Also honored was Record-Courier Sports Editor Tom Nader -- first place in Best Section in a daily paper.

"A truly fine sports section that serves local communities with extensive area coverage," the judges said. "The outstanding layout and photos are particularly noteworthy. Excellent work."

According to Michael E. Bennett, president of the Press Club, there were 800-plus entries in the 2013 competition. "The contest attracted everyone from college students and the new breed of multimedia journalists to reporters who still remember paper and pencil," he said. "Underlying all their work is the desire to bring to life people and events that impact readers and communities."

Judges were from press clubs in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Omaha, Tulsa, Syracuse, San Francisco and San Diego.